Chapter Nineteen
THE MORNING MOVED too quickly, and Rick had a feeling that every minute after he left Desiree, time would suddenly crawl by. As he finished packing, he couldn’t shake the heaviness in his heart. He’d fought the idea of returning to the Cape for so long, and now he couldn’t stand the idea of leaving. Desiree moved through his cottage like she belonged there. Not only did she belong, but she’d become as much a part of him as the blood in his veins.
She marveled at Hagen’s drawings, which were stuck to the refrigerator with magnets, and moved around the living room asking a dozen questions about his family photos. She wanted to know what he’d been thinking when he’d held Hagen as a newborn and what they were celebrating when the picture of him and his mother had been taken, the one where she had her head on his shoulder. Did he remember that very moment? She was so inquisitive, wanting to soak in every part of his life he was willing to share. That was just one of the things that made her so special. She saw into him, wanted to know what made him who he was, and he knew she genuinely cared about the answers.
He zipped up his suitcase, unable to take his eyes off her as she stood at the mantel gazing at another photograph. She wore one of his T-shirts, tied at the hip, and those sexy shorts from last night. Her feet were bare, and her hair was still damp from their shower. He’d loved her in bed, loved her beneath the warm spray of the shower, and he wanted to love her to the ends of the earth. He crossed the room and turned her in his arms.
“You okay, sweet girl?”
“As okay as can be expected. Violet and I will be so busy getting the inn ready now that we have a plan, I’m sure my days will be packed. Nights, though…” Her lips curved up in a sweet smile. “You and I have to burn up the FaceTime hours.”
“Every single night,” he promised. “And as many mornings as you can spare. You know I need to see you before I start my day. And in two weeks you’ll be in my arms again, and we’ll make up for every second we were apart.” He’d already made the flight reservations to return for a long weekend.
“Perfect. Do you realize this is the first time all summer that I’ve been in your cottage?”
“Mine or yours makes no difference in my mind.”
“I know, but there’s so much love in this cottage. I swear I can feel your family everywhere.” She picked up a picture of him and his father on the sailboat. “You have his smile, Rick. He looks just like you described. Full of energy. When I look at this picture, I can hear you two laughing.”
When he looked at the picture in her hands, he wondered if their kids would look like his father.
“Why didn’t we stay here at all?” she asked, drawing him from his thoughts of the future.
“I thought you’d want to be with Violet and Cosmos.”
“I did, but…” She motioned toward the photographs and the drawings Hagen had made. “I hadn’t realized how big a part of you was here. When you come back, I’d really like to stay here in your world.”
Could his heart get any fuller? “We’ll stay wherever you want. And if you want to take a few of the pictures to your place, you can.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really? You wouldn’t mind? I’ll be careful with them.”
“Baby, my things are your things. Take whatever you want.”
Mischief rose in her eyes. “Careful. I might rummage through your clothes, looking for something to sleep in that smells like you.”
He kissed her, laughing. “Your cuteness gets me every time. Take my whole damn closet, baby.”
A knock sounded at the door seconds before it pushed open, and Drake and Serena walked in.
“I told you they’d be dressed,” Serena said. “Hey, girl.” She went straight to Desiree and hugged her. “Are you okay?”
“What am I? Chopped liver?” Rick teased. He was glad they’d become so close. Mira, Matt, and Hagen had come to say goodbye earlier.
“You’re the one who’s leaving,” Serena pointed out.
“She’s got a point.” Drake pulled him to the side of the room while the girls talked. “All kidding aside, it meant the world to me that we went in on this business venture together. I know we’ve put your partners out all this time, and I feel bad about that. But honestly, it was worth it. I’ve missed you, and I finally feel like I have my brother back.”
“Me too, man.” Rick embraced him. “You’ll keep an eye on the girls for me? They’ve been through a lot with their mother, and although Violet comes across as a spitfire, you and I both know everyone needs looking after.”
“Already in my plans.”
AN HOUR AND a half later Rick drew Desiree into his arms in the small Provincetown airport. The events of the last few weeks played in her mind like a movie, capturing all his smiles, from the heated to the boisterous, and the way his eyes turned from amused to smoldering in the space of a second. She tucked all those and a million more wonderful memories away to draw upon later, forcing the sadness down deep. She wasn’t going to make this any harder than it had to be, even if every ounce of her wanted to climb him like a tree and cling like a monkey, refusing to let him leave.
But when he gazed into her eyes, her resolve snapped. “Maybe I shouldn’t stay and run the inn. I love you, Rick. I don’t want to be apart. I can go back to Virginia, and we can be together next weekend.”
He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I’m so damn proud of you for making the decision to stay. You’re my strong-willed, independent girl, and I love you for doing the right thing. This is where you belong, sweetheart. We’ll see each other often. I’ll make sure of it.”
They called his plane, and he held her tighter, letting all the other passengers make their way through the security gate before him. He put a sliver of space between them and touched his forehead to hers.
“When I come back, everyone better be ten pounds lighter.”
She laughed, even as sadness gripped her, and she snuggled against him, taking advantage of every second they were together. When they announced the boarding of his plane, he held her chin between his finger and thumb and touched his lips to hers.
“Until then, sweetheart.” He kissed her softly and held her hand as he stepped away. His fingers trailed to the very tips of hers, and then he blew her a kiss and mouthed, Love you, baby.
He blew her another kiss from the airstrip as he walked to the plane, and she’d never been so glad for a small airport in all her life. She watched his plane take off, and with a heavy heart, she pushed through the airport doors and stopped cold at the sight of her sister standing before her, holding out a handful of tissues.
“You’re gonna need them.” Violet thrust them toward her.
Sobs burst from Desiree’s lungs as she threw her arms around Violet.
“Seriously?” Violet sighed.
Her hand came to rest on Desiree’s lower back, and that simple sort of hug drew more tears. “Why are you here?” she sobbed.
“You can let go now.”
She held her tighter. “Vi?”
“What?”
“Tell me you love me.”
“Jesus, you’re needy.”
“I’m not letting go until you do.”
Violet sighed again. “Fine. I love your sorry ass. Now let’s go into P-town and see what kind of fuckery we can get into.”